


Ace of Cups

by babyblueglasses



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Halloween, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious, Pining, Slow Burn, Tarot, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-07-27 22:48:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16228880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyblueglasses/pseuds/babyblueglasses
Summary: As Halloween draws near, Loki finds himself fed up with pining over his best friend.





	1. Chapter 1

It was an unseasonably warm October, but Loki had draped himself in an oversized gray sweater anyway. He had the whole autumn look down, from the sweater that hung off one shoulder to the ripped and frayed jeans that disappeared into brand new black combat boots. He was wearing a set of black rings too, extremely thin bands of metal that were scattered across his fingers, some stacked into groups. 

Tony wasn’t sure how Loki wasn’t sweating as they walked down the sidewalk together. Tony had on a sleeveless shirt from his workshop and a pair of jeans above his sneakers. He was grateful for his mirrored sunglasses though. He didn’t need his best friend to notice the way he was checking him out. 

That happened a lot, actually. And sometimes Tony was good about catching himself, and other times he barely saved his own ass. 

Loki never seemed to notice or say anything though, so Tony figured that his secret was safe. Loki never showed interest in him like that period. And Tony wasn’t willing to lose Loki, one of the very few people in his life that he actually felt close to, so he shoved his hopeless crush down as far in his heart as it would go to forget about it. 

“Tony.” 

Tony’s head whipped back towards Loki. “Huh?” 

“You’re thinking about designing something again,” Loki said, voice strained. 

“No, I’m not, I’m—” Tony grasped for something to say as Loki sighed dramatically. 

“I just asked you if you wanted to go with me.” 

“Go where?” 

“Exactly,” Loki said, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“Where?” Tony insisted. 

Loki pushed open the convenience store door and stepped inside. He strolled towards the slushies they’d come to get as if Tony wasn’t right on his heels. “Where?” Tony repeated as Loki grabbed a styrofoam cup. 

The slushie machine hummed and gurgled as it came to life, pouring a blue fountain of ice into Loki’s cup. The rings on Loki’s fingers clinked as he reached for a lid to snap on the cup. “The street fair.” 

“Street fair,” Tony repeated, grabbing his own cup. He had no idea what Loki was talking about, and he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to or not. 

“We passed a sign for it when you were in La La Land,” Loki said. He was touchy today. “We’re not doing anything. Why don’t we go?” 

Tony hurried to fill his cup. “I mean, sure?” Loki nodded, walking towards the cash register without waiting for Tony. 

Tony snapped the lid on his drink and paused. Was Loki touchy because he had zoned out, or was it because of something else? 

Well, it wasn’t like Loki was unused to Tony getting lost in his own thoughts. Hell, Loki was pretty guilty of it himself.

Tony ran back through the day for clues. They hadn’t been hanging out for that long. Tony had swung by Loki’s like he always did on the weekends, and Loki had immediately complained that he wanted to get a slushie. They’d walked because the convenience store was close. 

Tony snapped a lid on his drink and walked towards the cash register. He didn’t have to figure out why Loki had his boxers in a knot. If he started really being a dick, Tony’d call him out on it. 

Loki casually held his drink, sipping through his straw as he watched Tony pay. He was quiet as they walked out the door. 

“So where’s this fair thing?” Tony asked. 

“A couple blocks over.” Loki slid one hand into his jeans pocket as the other held his drink. 

“Okay. Lead the way,” Tony said with bravado. Loki fought down a smirk after a moment and did so. 

 

Of course the one time that Loki had worked up the nerve to ask something important, Tony hadn’t been paying attention. Loki’d thought he had been. He’d been answering Loki, but then they had started walking towards the store. 

Loki valued his friendship with Tony, he truly did. Tony was the only person that Loki would eagerly call his friend. And yet he wanted more. He hated knowing that Tony was out with other dates when they could be together. It was getting to the point that Loki didn’t care about the potential of ruining their friendship. Maybe if Tony knew it was an option, he’d show interest in Loki. So Loki started testing the waters to see what Tony’s reaction would be.

But after a couple months of dropping verbal hints, Loki had finally decided that Tony just wasn’t going to pick up on them. 

He’d turned to Tony as they walked to the convenience store, heart pounding, and asked, “What would you say if I asked you about doing something as more than friends today?” The rings on his fingers had dug into his palms as he squeezed his hands shut, unable to look at Tony as he rushed to get the words out. “Maybe go on a date? There’s a street fair today—” Loki had dared to look over then. 

Tony’s stare was straight ahead, his expression impossible to read through his sunglasses. Loki waited, holding his breath. 

Nothing. Tony kept walking. “No?” Loki had asked softly, but still, there was no response. And Loki knew Tony far too well to think he was being ignored. Tony would’ve said something, even if it was a no. 

All of his expectation and adrenaline came crashing down. “Tony,” Loki said, reeling. No response. “ _Tony_.” 

And the gorgeous idiot had finally looked at him. 

 

Loki’s slushie was gone before they reached the street fair. He was irked at Tony now, whether that was rational or not, and he’d lost the nerve to try again today. 

Instead they wandered through the vendors, between stalls for homemade soap and kettle corn. Then, finally, something caught Loki’s eye. 

 

Tony wasn’t sure what Loki was interested in until he saw the vendor hand Loki a stack of cards. Loki fanned them out to look before handing over a wad of cash and turning to Tony with a gleeful look in his eyes. The vendor’s attention fell on Tony and he instantly found himself looking away, unnerved by the stranger’s golden eyes. Loki’s hand set on his shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said, excitedly pushing Tony through the crowd and away from the man with the all knowing eyes. 

“What’d you buy?” Tony asked. 

“You’ll see,” Loki promised. The crabbiness from earlier was entirely gone, and Tony was incredibly curious. 

 

Loki navigated them towards an empty picnic table. Tony kept trying to catch another glance of the cards, but Loki had already tucked them away inside his sweater. He had Tony sit down across from him. 

“Alright,” Loki said, taking out the cards and shuffling them. “I’m going to give you a reading.” 

“A what?” 

“I’m going to read your cards,” Loki said without skipping a beat. “It’ll be fun.” He was grinning as he spoke, the sound of shuffling cards beneath his voice.

Tony raised an eyebrow, but he seemed more baffled than anything. “How?” 

“You ask me a question, and I’ll tell you what the cards say,” Loki answered, dividing them into three stacks. “It’s like fortune telling.” 

Tony frowned at the cards. Loki could practically read the skeptical thoughts turning in his mind. “Don’t get technical,” Loki warned him with a knowing smirk and a patient warning in his eyes. “It’s for fun, Tony.” 

“Fiiiine,” Tony said. He pushed his sunglasses off his face, letting them tangle in his messy brown hair. Loki wished he could comb his fingers through it. Tony tilted his head as he looked at the stacks of cards. “You’re telling a fortune, right?” Loki nodded sagely. “Can you tell me about my love life?” He asked, suddenly interested. 

Loki had planned to lead up to that. He couldn’t believe that Tony was cutting right to it. “Of course,” Loki said, a charming smile sliding across his face. “Pick one of these three.” 

Tony chose the first pile. 

Loki immediately began laying out the cards, mind set on flirting. 

He’d weave a great story where everything happened to point towards Tony finding the love of his life in a friend he’d overlooked who also just happened to perfectly resemble Loki. Tony’d be able to put two and two together. He’d know that Loki was dropping a massive hint, and Loki could work up the nerve to be more direct again later. And frankly, Loki also had an impish impulse to see how Tony would react when he realized what Loki was telling him. 

The problem was that Loki did know how to read the cards. And as he started laying them out, he started seeing the story they were telling instead of the one he wanted to say. 

 

Tony watched Loki set the cards out on the picnic table with a mixture of intrigue and amusement. Loki was exhilarated doing this. Already Tony had dozens of questions. Why hadn’t Loki told him he could read cards? What did he think about it? Was he serious or not? How’d he learn? How long had he been reading them? How did it work? Loki made no effort to conceal his excitement as he laid out the cards, which was exactly why it was so jarring when Loki’s face abruptly fell. 

He stared at the cards, wide eyed, all color gone from his cheeks.

“What?” Tony asked, alarmed. 

Loki shoved all the cards into one huge, messy pile. “Nothing,” he breathed, forcing them into a stack that he proceeded to shove into his magical sweater of invisible pockets. He pushed himself up from the table with both hands. “Nothing. Let’s go. I just remembered that I promised Thor I’d go watch him at his game today and he’s going to kill me if I’m not there.” 

Loki walked away as fast as he could without it being considered running. Tony had to jog to catch up with him. “Was it something in the cards?” He didn’t entirely buy Loki’s line about seeing Thor’s football league play, but it was plausible. Sort of. Barely. “Loki—”

“This new deck is just a dick,” Loki said, laughing. “No, Tony, they’re—they’re cards. I’m incredibly late for Thor’s game. Are you coming?” He was walling Tony off and Tony knew from experience that asking Loki when he was like this wasn’t going to get him anywhere. 

“Sure.” 

Tony struggled to match Loki’s breakneck pace, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

“Loki’s acting weird.” 

It sounded a lot less like a crisis in Rhodey’s dry, almost teasing voice. 

“Yeah,” Tony insisted. “He is.” He spun around in Rhodey’s computer chair as his oldest best friend worked from his laptop on the couch. “Ever since he looked at the cards he’s been weird. Something upset him. I don’t know anything about tarot cards. Do you?” 

Rhodey didn’t look up from his laptop. “Have you considered that maybe it’s not this card-thing but a you-thing?” Rhodey asked. “You asked him to tell you about your love life and he’s got a huge crush on you so—”

“—He does not,” Tony said, frustration making it come out harsher than he meant. “You know Loki doesn’t think of me like that—”

“—But you like him, so why don’t you just say something—”

“—You know why, Rhodey.” Tony turned back towards the desktop he was supposed to be fixing for Rhodey. He was quieter as he answered, chest heavy. “Loki doesn’t—he doesn’t. I’d know. And if I say something, then it’ll ruin everything.” For a moment there was nothing but the clicking of keyboards. Tony pecked at a couple of keys, uninterested. Loki never even once came a fraction too close to his personal space or let a touch linger. “I know you think he looks at me that way, but he doesn’t. I’d know if Loki had a crush on me.” Tony rubbed his nose. He’d know.

Rhodey laid his arm across the back of the couch, staring at Tony for a moment. “Tones, I love you, but I am not going to straighten out your love life for you. You know what I think about you and Loki, and you’ve got to be the one to tell him.” Tony clicked at the mouse, unable to believe him. It was better not to say anything to Loki. Tony didn’t want to lose him. “I am not going to hand him a piece of paper with a do you like me check yes or no like I did with Meredith McCall.” 

“That was in second grade! And I gave you my pudding cup to do it!” 

Rhodey smiled, delighted. That story never ceased to amuse him. Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe,” Rhodey said, and Tony already knew he was going to be the butt of a joke, “you should play MASH with Loki but only put his name in the choices column and then act like it’s your fortune to get married—”

“—Haha.” Tony started typing, suddenly diligent. 

“I’m serious.” Rhodey shook his head. Tony knew he brought Loki up a little too much. Rhodey was probably getting fed up with him. Okay, he was definitely at least tired of hearing about it.

Tony tried to defend himself. “He was acting weird, okay? It was weird.” 

“Did you see what cards he had?” Tony shook his head. “I’m going to look it up,” Rhodey said. “Maybe you and I can learn how to play it.” 

“I don’t think it’s a game,” Tony said.

Rhodey shrugged. “Maybe it’ll tell me how to score a new car.” 

 

Thor had his arms crossed and was leaning back against the wall of Loki’s apartment. He was wearing a red letterman jacket that’d been beaten and dragged through the mud so often that it sported permanent stains and a fraying elbow. His hair was messy and pulled back into a half-assed ponytail with long, loose blond strands against his face. His stubble was long enough that Loki just assumed he was growing it out to a full on beard again. Loki stopped staring at his brother and tried to be interested in his book again. 

“Are you going to tell me why you came to my game or not?” Thor asked. He probably already knew the answer. Judging by his expression he at least knew it had something to do with Tony.

Loki rolled his eyes at the page in his book. He didn’t have a good excuse. After he’d dragged Tony along with him, Thor had been shocked to see him there, but caught on to Loki pretending that he was supposed to be there and covered for him. Loki had then turned to Tony, his stomach in a knot, and found suspicion on Tony’s face as clear as day. 

Tony hadn’t said anything about it though, and Loki was thankful for that.

It felt like Thor’s stare was burning a hole into him. “We were close by and I thought he’d want to see you play.” 

It was Thor’s turn to roll his eyes, resembling his brother. “You should tell him.” 

“Tell him what?” Loki asked, his voice too acerbic to come off as naive as he wanted it to.

Thor turned his head away to the side. “Tony looks at you.” Thor was annoyed and protective as he said it and all at once Loki was embarrassed and defensive. 

“No he doesn’t. Not like that.” Loki dropped his book into his lap, daring his brother to tell him he was wrong. 

Thor looked him dead in the eye. “More than once I’ve seen him.” Loki bristled. Under different circumstances he might’ve been thrilled, but he was too stubborn towards Thor to see it any other way than combative. “I doubt he’d say no, it’s not like he hasn’t had his fair share of—”

“—watch it,” Loki snapped. Thor let his arms drop to his sides as Loki seethed, clasping the edge of the book in his lap. “Don’t talk about Tony like that.” 

“I’m not saying it in a bad way Loki,” Thor said, annoyed again. “It’s obvious you like him, so just say something.” 

_I have_ was on the tip of Loki’s tongue, but he swallowed it down. He couldn’t open up to Thor, not right now. Thor had become easily provoked and self-absorbed the last few months. Loki didn’t know if it had something to do with breaking up with Jane a while back or something that he hadn’t told Loki about, but their relationship had become a lot more strained. 

Maybe Thor was just pissed that Loki hadn’t actually come to watch him play the game and Thor knew it. 

“Did you just come over here to grill me on Tony for the hundredth time or was there something else?” 

Thor stuck one hand in his pocket, leaning off the wall. “Shady Acres called again. They asked us to bring more socks. Dad keeps losing them.” Thor scratched his hair, then licked his lips, reluctant to say the next part. “Can you go? I don’t want to tell him that Mom died again.” 

“Thor, let him talk about her. Tell him she’s out gardening or had a lunch date with friends.” It was obnoxiously pedantic, but Loki didn’t stop himself. He was annoyed too now. "Must you remind him always of her death? It only hurts him every time.” Thor sighed, reaching for the door handle. They’d argued over how to care for their father plenty of times. “He went to the funeral, Thor. We don’t have to—”

“—Are you going to go?” 

“Yes,” Loki spat out. 

Thor nodded. He opened the door to go, and even though part of Loki wanted to say bye he bit his tongue. Loki stared at the door after it was shut, studying the crack in the paint and the tarnish on the handle. 

Then he rose from his couch and went over to his bookshelf. 

He gave his new deck a weary glance and then knelt down on the floor and pulled some books from the bottom shelf away to reveal a second row of books. There, tucked between two paperbacks was a familiar deck swaddled in gauzy cloth. 

Loki brought it to his kitchen table, carefully unwrapping it to reveal cards worn with age and use. 

It’d been a few years since he’d read them almost daily. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d used them, but they felt like greeting and old friend as he laid them out on the table. 

The soft shuffle was a lullaby as he sorted them meditatively, uncertain of what he wanted to ask. 

 

Across town, Tony and Rhodey were doing the same, although the images on their deck were shiny and the cards smelled like the box they’d purchased from a shop filled with incense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor was going to be very different in this but then Ragnarok-ish!Thor was like _nope_. New direction. But this is also an AU, not Ragnarok, so they won't be the same. 
> 
> If you have thoughts on tarot or want to guess what cards are drawn, feel free to send that my way! :)
> 
> The MASH game if you didn't grow up with it: https://www.wikihow.com/Play-M.A.S.H


	3. Chapter 3

They sat on the floor of Rhodey’s living room, the coffee table between them. Rhodey took the cards from the box and began sorting through them. “Do any of these look familiar?” 

Tony shook his head. They’d tried to match Loki’s deck at the store. The saleswoman had even gone into the back and returned with a dozen decks for them to look through before deciding that it was something they didn’t have in stock. They ended up buying her recommendation for a classic deck. 

“Do we just ask a question and pick out a card?” Tony asked aloud, pulling open the tiny paper booklet that was inside the box.

“What’s it say?” 

“It just says what the cards mean. It doesn’t say how to read them,” Tony said, flipping through. “Oh wait. You’re supposed to lay them out in a pattern.” 

“Can’t we just pick them?” Rhodey frowned at the complicated chart that Tony was pointing too. 

“Let me see.” The explanation of the spread already assumed that they knew what they were doing. Tony had no idea what things like querent and significator meant in this context, and he didn’t have the patience to figure them out. He’d just wing it as they went. “Uh, I guess. I don’t see why not.” 

“Okay.” Rhodey held his breath as he stared at the deck, concentrating. “How do I get a new car?” He paused before flipping down a card lightning fast. 

“It’s a statue of a knight and some swords.” Rhodey nodded towards the booklet. “What’s it mean?” 

Tony flipped through. It took him a moment to figure out that he had to look in swords for the fourth one. “Rest, recuperation, introspection,” he read. Tony squinted at the tiny font. “Maybe you just have to wait around for a car.”

Rhodey pouted his lips. “I wanted it to tell me where I could get one for free.” 

“The junkyard,” Tony said. He cracked a smile as Rhodey rolled his eyes and shuffled the deck. 

“You ask something.” 

Tony didn’t know what to ask. “Uh—am I going to die?” 

“Really?” Rhodey balked. “Everybody dies. Do you think it’s going to say you’re immortal?” 

Tony had just said the first thing that popped in his head. “Just see what it says.” 

Rhodey flipped down a card. “It’s an old man. You’re going to be an old man when you die.” 

“Awesome.” 

Rhodey breathed out a laugh before shuffling again. “How about, what’s going to happen when Tony finally tells Loki he’s gaga for him?” 

“Hey—”

“—it’s the two of cups.” 

Tony leafed through the booklet too quickly for someone who didn’t care about the answer. “Love, friendship, union.” Tony looked away. “So we’re going to stay friends,” he said, almost bitter. 

“The first word that thing said was love,” Rhodey reminded him. 

“I love you and we’re not dating,” Tony said, sassier than usual. “Love covers a lot of things—”

“—Give me that,” Rhodey said, reaching for the booklet. Tony let him have it. “What do you think love and union mean?” Tony crossed his arms, shaking his head. It was only confirming what he already knew. They were close friends. The end. “Fine. Let’s see what he thinks about you.” 

Rhodey set down a card with a golden cup in the center and water pouring from it as a bird landed above it. 

“It’s a cup,” Tony said flatly. 

“Yeah,” Rhodey said, eyes bright. “Because he’s thirsty. Thirsty for—” Tony reached for the deck as Rhodey exclaimed, “you!” 

“You’re ridiculous,” Tony said, shuffling the cards. 

“I’m ridiculous? We are looking through a deck of cards to figure out what upset your not-boyfriend.” 

“You just wait until the next time you have a crush on somebody. Then you’ll be doing the same thing as me, just like when you dragged me through every single store in three different malls to find a birthday gift for Bethany.” 

“That was different,” Rhodey insisted. Tony raised an eyebrow. “We were already dating, not beating around the bush like you two.” 

Tony sighed as loud as he could. “I’m going to read your cards,” he decided. “Ask me something.” 

“Who is going to win the Super Bowl this year?” 

“I’m sure one of these cards has a team logo on it,” Tony snarked as he drew a card. He set down a card with people screaming on it as they fell from a lighting-struck tower. “What is that?” 

Rhodey found it in the booklet. “Calamity, chaos, upheaval.” 

They both stared at it with grimaces on their faces.

“They’re going to get rid of the Super Bowl all together,” Tony guessed, aiming for humor. Rhodey tilted his head slightly, smiling uncomfortably. “Maybe we should just stick that one back in the box.” 

“Good idea,” Rhodey said, hurrying to put it back. “Are there any other ones like that?” 

Tony handed him half the stack to sort through. 

“Let’s get rid of the one where the person’s getting stabbed in the back with a bunch of swords,” Tony said. 

“And the death one,” Rhodey said, sticking that one in the box. “I don’t want you to call me at three in the morning because you had a nightmare.” 

“Now I’m going to call you at three in the morning just because you said that,” Tony answered. Rhodey smiled, shuffling the cards back together. “I’m going text Loki about meeting up tomorrow,” Tony said, his mood sinking as worry struck again. 

“Ok.” 

He was glad that Rhodey didn’t feel any of the urgency that he did. It helped to put things in perspective. Crush aside, Tony cared about Loki as a friend too. He didn’t like seeing Loki upset. 

“Hey, let’s try that pattern thing,” Rhodey said, turning through the pages of the booklet. 

“That’s going to take us forever to read,” Tony said, shuffling the cards anyway. 

“You want to go grab some beers?” Rhodey asked. 

Tony got up, stretching as he did. “I thought you’d never ask. I’m going to steal some of your chips too.” 

“I’ll add it to your tab,” Rhodey answered as Tony wandered towards the kitchen. They shared so much that they both kept each other’s favorite foods at their houses without ever discussing it. Tony slipped his phone from his pocket as he opened up the refrigerator door. 

_Can I swing by your place tomorrow? I’ve got a surprise._

Loki answered as Tony was pouring chips in a bowl. _Well now you’ve set high expectations._

 _I can meet them ;)_ Tony replied. 

_Don’t disappoint me, Stark. ;)_ Tony smiled to himself. At least he was Stark right now. Tony didn’t know why he liked the nickname so much, but he did when it was coming from Loki’s lips. Did Loki have any idea how much he loved their playful banter? Probably not. Loki just naturally had a sharp tongue and spoke that way with everyone. Tony sighed, making his way back into the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki may have to help them. XD


	4. Chapter 4

Loki seemed tired as he opened the door, a single black drop earring catching the light as it dangled on his ear. Tony watched it sway like a pendulum, the pointed end of it floating in front of Loki’s long, wavy black hair. Loki pulled open the heavy wooden door, gesturing for Tony to enter. 

Tony had his hands shoved in his hoodie. The weather had abruptly shifted from warm to biting cold. “I made tea,” Loki said, locking the door. He started towards his kitchen, wearing slippers and a pair of rather tight black pants and a loose sweater. “It’s that one blend you like, if you want.” 

“Hey, as long as you douse it with honey, I’m good.” Tony hovered beside the kitchen table for a second as Loki selected a mug from an assortment of mismatched ones. Loki’s kitchen cabinets were a muted red. The whole apartment had unusual paint colors on heavy wood, much of it chipping in places. Everywhere Tony looked in the apartment there were scattered books and pens, art supplies and empty teacups. 

In addition to the usual clutter, there was also a pile of socks on Loki’s table. The tags on them caught Tony’s eye. “Are these for your dad?” 

Loki’s gaze fell on the pile of socks, his hand wrapped around the mug he was about to give Tony. He set it on the table with a soft clunk. “He seems to lose his socks often. I ironed his name onto all of these. We’ll see if it helps at all,” Loki said doubtfully, lowering himself into his chair beside a half empty cup of tea. 

“I never knew your dad’s name was Odin.” 

Loki’s gaze flickered back towards him, out of his own thoughts. He smiled softly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “It is.” 

Tony reached into his hoodie. He set a small but heavy book on the table. “I grabbed this because I saw your name on it, and Thor’s, but your dad’s name is Odin—what was your mom’s name?” 

One eyebrow swept down on Loki’s face as he reached for the book. He gently turned it open, softly leafing through the pages. “My mother’s name was Frigga,” Loki said, voice distracted as he scanned a page. He smiled, and this time his eyes did light up. “I used to have dozens of books like these.” 

“I saw it and I thought of you,” Tony said. “It’s yours.” 

“It’s a nice surprise,” Loki said. 

“Oh. That’s not the surprise,” Tony said. Loki tilted his head slightly, expectant. “But uh, I always kinda thought that your parents were into Norse mythology and that’s why you and your brother got your names, but—were those their names when they met?” 

“Yes.” 

“The odds of that are like—well, actually I don’t know what the odds are. I guess I could look up the data to calculate it, but still, unusual odds, right?” 

Loki shut the book, although his hand didn’t leave the cover. He was thoughtful as he answered. “Our names don’t perfectly align with the family relationships in the myths. Did you read any of this?” Loki asked, tapping his finger against the mythology book’s cover. 

Tony shook his head. “I just knew where your and Thor’s names came from.” 

Loki’s rings clinked against the cover as he set it back on the table. “So what is this surprise?” He asked with a playful lilt. 

Tony took the deck from his sweatshirt pocket. Loki’s eyes immediately widened. “I dragged Rhodey along to buy this. I got that book at the same shop, actually. I thought that maybe I’d learn how to read them too?” 

Loki stared at the box, saying nothing. 

“What?” Tony asked. 

Loki blinked, coming back. “Nothing. It’s just—I am surprised to see you bought one, that’s all.” 

“Why?” Tony asked, opening the box and drawing out the cards. 

“Tony, you just considered calculating the odds of my parents having similarly themed names.” 

“So?” 

“So these are not quite scientific.” 

Tony sighed. He didn’t have to make everything an experiment, alright? This was just for fun. This was just a way for him to spend a little more time with Loki. Not that he could say that.

Tony started picking out the cards he didn’t like. Rhodey and he had added more to the nope pile since they’d played. 

“What are you doing?” 

Tony picked up the last one and then set the stack back inside the box. “I don’t use those ones.” 

A smile twitched and then spread across Loki’s closed lips. There was a softness to the way he extended his hand towards Tony. “Let me see them.” Tony handed him the deck without a second thought. Loki withdrew the stack from inside the box, shuffling it back in. “You can’t just exclude the parts you don’t like.”

“Why not?” 

“Because that’s not how life is.” 

Tony gave Loki a look, but it went unnoticed. Loki shuffled through the cards, dividing them into piles and starting again, far past the point that Tony thought was necessary. He looked content as he did it though, a faint smile on his lips as his unfocused gaze set on the deck in his hands. Tony was happy to watch.

Tony pushed more of the socks aside to further clear the table between them. 

“I’m going to read your cards,” Loki said. 

He fanned through the deck and selected one card, setting it on the table.

“Aren’t you supposed to draw them at random?” 

“You are,” Loki answered, shuffling the deck again. “However, this card is meant to represent you, so I’ve placed it at the center of the spread I’m doing.” 

“Do you have to pick one that’s you?” 

Loki shook his head. 

Tony sat a little taller to see the card. “Why’d you pick the magician for me?” 

 

Loki shrugged. “It’s traditional.” The truth was that he associated it with Tony because the man was endlessly thinking of ways to solve problems and creating fascinating solutions. Tony seemed in control of things, and capable of anything, if he put his mind to it. Loki sighed to himself, setting down another card. “I’m just going to do a general snapshot of how things are for you right now.” That seemed safe. General. Vague enough. 

He was just going to read the damn cards the way they wanted to be read this time, instead of trying to change anything. Maybe if he wasn’t so attached to the outcome, it’d be better.

Maybe it wouldn’t slap him over the head with something he hadn’t wanted to know. Even if…even if he maybe should’ve been told to save himself the heartbreak. 

“For this first card,” Loki said, set on carefully explaining everything to Tony so that he could learn, “I’m going to see what the general overview for your present is.” Loki drew from the deck, turning the card as Tony leaned over the table. In a way, it was rewarding to be able to teach Tony something when Tony was so often teaching him things.

The high priestess stared back at them, draped in a blue veil with a crescent moon at her feet. “What’s that mean?” Tony asked, instantly curious and unable to wait. 

“So in general I associate this card with intuition,” Loki said, pushing aside the immediate thought that there was some sort of sexual overtone to it. “Combined with the question that I asked, I’d say that there’s something significant in your life right now that is calling on you to use your intuition rather than critical thought. You need to trust what your heart is saying,” Loki said, trying to fight off the way his lips turned down as he said it. He was getting information that he didn’t want again. 

“That makes sense,” Tony said, obviously distracted with his own thoughts. He squinted at the card as if memorizing it.

Loki stared at the tangle of chestnut brown curls facing him as Tony stared down at the card, wishing that he could brush them back from Tony’s forehead. It hurt, really. 

Loki turned to the next card, eager for a distraction. “The second card I place down is going to show what you want—It’s the empress, so—” Loki held his breath for a second, batting away the sensuality that the card radiated. “It’s—it’s associated with nurturing and care, so maybe you—you need to take some time to treat yourself.” 

It was like the card was screaming at Loki that he was wrong, but he diligently avoided the thought. He was absolutely not going to tell Tony the implications of love that he was reading into it.

“So like a treat yo’ self day?” 

Loki smiled, mouth parted in a thought, almost with relief. “Yes. That’s one way of looking at it.” 

“I need a spa day. Got it.” 

Loki smiled again, amused with Tony’s response. “This third card is going to show hidden factors.” 

As Loki set the card down, Tony immediately said, “I’m rich!” 

Loki breathed out a bit of a laugh, unsure if it was because Tony was really that amusing, or if he was just clinging to it for relief. “That aside, I’d say that whatever this is that you’ve got to use your intuition on, it’s probably in a lot better shape than you realize.” 

The words left Loki’s mouth before he realized how they fit into the rest of what he was thinking, and his smile immediately fell. “It’s good,” he recovered. “You’ve basically maxed out on whatever this is. You just don’t realize it.” He reached for the next card. “Now I’m going to look at obstacles.” He found himself wishing for a really awful card to block Tony’s path. 

The knight of cups stared back at him. 

If Tony had noticed his flustering, he said nothing. Knowing him, he was probably processing everything that Loki had said too much to notice how it was said. Loki tried to be more detached as he interpreted the card for Tony, but it was difficult. “It would seem that your emotions are playing a role in this. Maybe you’re not acting on them, or maybe you’re not aligned with them the way you should be.” He wasn’t entirely sure on the card, and he was hesitant to prod and turn it over in his mind. He moved on. “Finally, I’m going to look at the outcome.” He set down the page of cups. “Positive,” he said, regretting that he’d chosen to do this. 

Loki pushed his hair back behind his ear. “At the end of this it seems that you’re going to have good news.” He bit back on saying that it could be a new love. 

“So…I’m not dying?” 

Loki’s head snapped up. He was unable to hide the bafflement on his face. “Should you be?” 

Tony leaned back towards his chair, crossing his arms over his chest in his oversized hoodie. “No. It’s just that I figured something that got a huge reaction out of you last time was, you know. Big.” 

“And you just assumed it meant that you were dying?” Loki asked again. 

Tony shrugged. Loki stared at him for a moment before concern swept in. He hadn’t meant to upset Tony like that. He’d had no idea that he had, really.

Loki licked his lips, debating how much he wanted to divulge, if at all. Then he remembered that Tony wasn’t supposed to have noticed that something was wrong, and his lie about Thor’s game had obviously sunk like a brick. Worse than that, Tony was still worrying about it now. Loki stared at the cards, contemplating what his answer would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew the spread in this chapter and used all the cards just the way they came out for the fun of it.


	5. Chapter 5

“This is important to you. I can tell.” Loki had been chewing on his lip as he stared at the cards, but now his green eyes darted to Tony. “So I—” Tony hunched his shoulders, looking away. He didn’t want to scare Loki or get walled off like before. “I mean, can you tell me what you read?” 

Loki combed his fingers through his hair. He paused halfway back, his fingers tangled in his hair as he spoke. “It’s not really any of my business,” he said, wishing that Tony would drop it. 

“But you believe it,” Tony said, certain. “Whatever it was. So—you know. Shouldn’t you tell me?” Loki dropped his hands into his lap, looking melancholy and refusing to answer. “Maybe I can tell you if it’s right or wrong.” 

Loki rubbed his thumb against his palm. He hadn’t expected Tony to get involved this deeply when he’d bought the deck of cards. He’d expected a flirty afternoon that maybe a lead up to some clues where Tony would finally understand. 

Except now Loki was reluctant to confess, thinking what he did. It seemed pointless.

Loki drew in a tight breath just as Tony began to get impatient. “You don’t find it—strange that I take these seriously?” 

Tony couldn’t understand why Loki was being reluctant to share this with him. Usually Loki had no problem with telling him off if he didn’t agree on something. “Look. I’ll admit that it doesn’t exactly fit into my world view, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to judge you for it.” Loki sat up slightly taller. “Not at all. When have I ever been shitty to you about something like that?” 

A slight smile appeared on Loki’s lips. 

“Seriously,” Tony added, recognizing that Loki was going to bring up something petty and trying not to smile too. “Point is, if you’re into this, okay. I’m fine with it. We don’t have to view everything the same way. Now if you start doing something that I think is harming you, then yeah, I’m going to say something. I’m not going to let you run off with a cult or something.” 

“That’s reassuring,” Loki said with a vaguely sarcastic lilt that made Tony want to kick him under the table. If things had been a little less tense, Tony would’ve. “I—used to read cards often. It’d been a long time since I’d read them when I saw them at the fair.” Loki combed his fingers back past his ear, jostling his earring. “My mother taught me to read, actually.” 

“Why’d you stop?” 

Loki wrapped his hands around his mug, despite it being cold now. “It wasn’t a conscious decision, really. I don’t know why.” Loki frowned at the bits of loose leaf tea at the bottom of his mug. “But you asked if you were dying. I don’t read for death. That’s not something I wish to know.” 

“Have you ever asked about death?” Tony was concerned as he asked, already connecting dots that he didn’t want to. Loki’s mother had been murdered seven years ago when she’d defended a woman during a random mugging. Loki seemed to have reached acceptance and talked about her often now, but there always seemed to be that dark cloud hanging over their family. 

“No,” Loki said, oblivious to Tony’s relief as he spoke. “Besides, things can change from day to day. It’s more like reading possibility than a fixed fate. It’s the weather forecast. Sometimes it goes that way, sometimes it doesn’t.” 

Tony nodded. Loki was staring at the pile of socks, tapping his finger against his mug. “So I can’t help but notice,” Tony said. “That you have still completely managed to avoid my question.” 

Loki’s head turned towards him, an almost angry smile appearing on his lips. His eyebrows became stubborn. 

“Loki,” Tony cooed. Loki pressed his lips together. Tony reached across the table, gently setting his hand on Loki’s arm. “Loki. Tell me. Please? Pretty please?” 

Loki huffed. He liked the contact, even if he didn’t like Tony’s insistence. He didn’t move to dislodge Tony.

“I mean, if it’s just a possibility, it could’ve changed already, right? So tell me. Am I going to be a sugar baby? Am I going to be on the bachelor show? Please don’t tell me I’m getting together with Steven—”

“—Alright,” Loki caved. The image of that Strange bastard and Tony together was infuriating enough. “I’ll tell you.” 

He didn’t want to tell Tony why he’d reacted the way he had, though. 

Tony let go of Loki’s arm, trying not to buzz with excitement. It wasn’t that he thought it was going to be something good, but he was overjoyed that Loki was going to share with him. 

“I stopped because I felt that I’d overstepped my bounds,” Loki lied. He couldn’t look at Tony. It was too painful. 

Tony wasn’t sure what that could mean. He didn’t like the unhappiness radiating from Loki though. 

Loki gripped the mug tight enough that he felt his rings pressing back into his fingers. “The very first card was that you were keeping a secret. I should’ve stopped there.” 

Tony’s heart stopped. 

Loki knew. Fuck, Loki knew, and worse, Loki knew and _didn’t reciprocate and now he fucking knew_. Tony was utterly frozen, unable to move. 

Loki was afraid to look at Tony, to see just how deep in this hole he was burying himself. “Especially since the next card gave me the sense that there wasn’t any change, that you weren’t going to tell this secret. It was going to come out on its own time frame.” 

Tony was starting to sweat and he couldn’t move. Shiiiiit. 

“But it was obvious that the secret was causing you a lot of pain and making you feel like you were isolated, and I wanted to know what it was, so I kept going,” Loki confessed. 

He still couldn’t look at Tony. 

Tony couldn’t believe that it could get any worse, and yet it still did. 

“And since it was a love reading and it had the devil, I assumed that you had a secret relationship that was—” In truth, Loki had fixated on that card the most. His mind had run in a thousand different directions with it, some worse than others. How could he possibly say this without offending Tony? “Unhealthy,” he tried, picking one interpretation of many and rushing to get to the end of his explanation. “And then it was followed by the hermit and the tower, like there’s going to be a massive upheaval in your life and then I’m not sure, maybe it’s for the best.” 

Tony swallowed, but his mouth was dry. “What’s for the best?” 

Loki finally dared to look. Tony was paler than he expected, and looked queasy. Pissed, maybe. Loki felt tremendously guilty, although he wasn’t entirely sure why. “That was followed by the star and sun, which are positive, it seemed,” he said softly. “I stopped there.” It’d felt like there had been more to it, and Loki had been drawing the cards and following their story rather than following a predetermined spread. Tony was going to be happy when his secret relationship was revealed, and it didn’t involve Loki. 

Loki stared down at his hands in his lap. He wasn’t sure when he’d begun wringing them. “It’s none of my business who you’re with, Tony,” Loki said, hating the words as they left his mouth. He didn’t mean them at all. He cared very much who Tony was with. “But if you come out about it, it’ll be fine, probably. I didn’t finish the reading from there.” 

“So—” Tony said, trying to process everything that Loki had just said. “You think I have a secret relationship and—what, exactly?” 

“I don’t know, Tony,” Loki said, embarrassed. He shouldn’t have said anything. 

“What if I told you I don’t have a secret relationship?” 

Loki stared at Tony, almost as if he was bracing himself to be struck. “I don’t,” Tony stated. “I don’t.” 

Tony could’ve sworn that he saw relief, but he wasn’t sure why. Just what exactly had Loki thought that he’d gotten himself involved in? 

Loki had been right about something, though. He was keeping a secret. The question was whether or not it was a secret that he wanted to tell. 

It’d been too much of an adrenaline rush for Tony to think clearly anymore, and he knew it. He licked his lips. “Can you remember all the cards that you read?” 

“Yes.” 

“Can you lay them out in order?” Tony wasn’t sure why he was asking. He was just following a whim. “I need to see them.” 

Loki was grateful to have something concrete to do. He fanned open Tony’s deck and plucked out the cards, laying them in the same order that he’d read them. 

They both hunched over the table, staring at the cards with uncomfortable expressions, each debating just how much they wanted to divulge, if at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cards are: the moon, the hanged man, the 5 of pentacles, the devil, the hermit, the tower, the star, the sun.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony reached for the guide booklet from the box. Loki watched him leaf through it, Tony’s torso hunched forward as he leaned over the tiny booklet. Loki watched him for a while, lost in thought. Then Tony reached for his phone, rapidly typing something in. “What’re you looking up?” 

Tony didn’t glance up from reading. “You said the devil meant an unhealthy relationship.” 

“I did,” Loki said, curious about where Tony’s mind was. 

“Well.” Tony wanted to be careful about how he said it, but he was still a little off balance. “It’s also about feeling like you don’t have choices and realizing that you do.” Maybe that was vague. Of course it was vague. “Feeling trapped.” 

“Is there something—serious—you want to tell me Tony?” Loki’s voice was marked by worry. 

“No, uh, not something bad. I’m not dying or something bad,” Tony said. That seemed to comfort Loki. “You know if I were in a relationship, I wouldn’t hide that from you, right?” 

“I wasn’t trying to pry, it’s none of my business—”

“—maybe it is,” Tony cut him off. Loki’s eyes darted to him and stayed there, surprised. Tony’s heart skipped a couple beats. Maybe Rhodey was right. Maybe he should say something, even though the thought steeled in his chest.

Loki licked his lips. He hurried to fill the silence that was bafflingly tense. Tony was keyed up and Loki was reading it as frustration towards himself. “The part I don’t understand,” he said, desperate to smooth out whatever was transpiring because it made him uncomfortable, “is how all that leads up to this,” Loki said, tapping the tower and then swiping his finger across the sun and star. 

He stood up from the table. Something was off. He didn’t know what, but it was. “Did you want me to teach you to read a spread?” Loki asked, grabbing his mug and putting his back to Tony as he reached for the tea kettle on the stove.

“Oh. I—” His reply was cut off by Loki’s phone blaring. They both knew the ringtone. “Go ahead and answer it,” Tony said. 

Loki snatched the phone off the table. “Hello, Father.” Loki closed his eyes for a split second before returning back to the stove. He set the burner on again. “No, Mother’s with her friends visiting the beach this week. It’s their yearly trip. I’m sure she’s out having fun with them and can’t hear her phone.” Loki poured honey into his empty cup. “Did you have a good morning? I heard it was Bingo day.” 

Loki sunk back into his chair at the table, the phone cradled against his shoulder as he waited for the kettle to whistle.

Tony started picking through the deck of cards. He’d heard many a conversation like this. He flipped over a card that had a blindfolded woman with eight swords around her. He just hoped it didn’t turn into a conversation where Loki’s dad either thought he was Thor, or spent the entire time talking about Thor until Loki was upset and frustrated. 

Loki smiled at him, combing his fingers through his hair on the opposite side he had the phone cradled. Tony started flipping through more cards, trying to remember the things he and Rhodey had learned. 

“I’m fine. My friend Tony is over. He—yes, that Tony.” Loki smiled slightly, setting his arm across the back of his chair as he turned around to look at the tea kettle. “Yes, Tony is doing well. He says hello,” Loki said, getting up from his chair just as the kettle started to whistle. “Oh. Alright. I will come by and visit you soon, alright? Alright. Good bye.” 

Tony watched as Loki set his phone down on the counter and started fixing his tea. 

He wasn’t sure what to do. 

“Did you want some?” Loki asked, tapping his spoon against his mug. 

“I’m fine.” 

As Loki turned around, his attention skittered away from Tony and landed on the pile of socks on the table. For a moment his mind lingered on that before he sat back down at the table.

Loki brought all of the cards together and then fanned them out, picking three. 

He flipped them down on the table across from Tony in quick, decisive movements. The three of cups, the two of cups, the lovers. 

“Read these,” Loki instructed.


	7. Chapter 7

“A dance party, a toast with snakes, a naked dance party,” Tony guessed. 

Loki sat sideways in his chair, his arm slung across the back of it as his pointer finger tapped and flexed. This felt like a test. Loki’s eyes were on him rather than the cards, expression pensive. “I don’t know. Let me look it up,” Tony conceded, reaching for the guidebook. 

Loki snatched it out from under his hand. 

“You don’t need this,” Loki said. “I’m teaching you.” 

“But I don’t know what any of them mean—”

“—What do they look like?” Loki sat forward in his chair, the guidebook disappearing in an instant. 

Tony was frustrated. “A dance party, a—”

Loki half-smiled at him, pointing to the first card as he said, “A dance party. Fine. What can you tell about the people? They’re getting along, are they good friends?” 

Tony shrugged. “Sure.” 

“They’re surrounded by a harvest, life is going well here, right? So,” Loki said, brushing his hair back over his shoulder, “Friendship would be a fair interpretation. Or celebration.” Tony nodded, but he wasn’t really following. At least, he didn’t think so. “Now if we look at this next card, they also have cups, but now there are only two of them.” 

“So?” 

“Now instead of a friendship, it’s a partnership. This couple is unified together. And then if we look at the next card, the lovers, besides what’s obvious in the title, it can also be about choices.” 

Tony looked a little closer at the card, then returned his gaze to Loki to find him watching with sharp eyes. Tony felt like squirming under his gaze, but it was also Loki and Tony always felt comfortable with him. Tony pursed his lips to the side. 

Loki gently nudged the cards a little closer towards Tony.

“Now put them all together.” 

Tony pushed out a sigh. There wasn’t a right answer. _There wasn’t a right answer._ There also wasn’t a wrong one. He could say whatever he wanted and be right, so why did Loki suddenly think that Tony was going to be a mind reader? Rhodey had been better at it. “Lo. I don’t really think I get this. I think it’s more of your thing.” 

 

Loki wasn’t sure why Tony was reluctant to try. He had a brilliant mind, so why was he hesitant to apply it? Loki decided that it was best to ease off a little. “It takes time,” Loki reassured him. “After a while you’ll start to see connections more easily. It’s like telling a story—” Loki recognized skepticism in Tony’s expression and changed tactics. “—Where did you buy this deck, exactly?” 

Tony’s answer was more chipper. “Knowhere. Rhodey found it easily online but it was kind of hard to find in real life, we drove around the block five times before we saw the sign marker. You have to take these brick steps down to the door and it’s got a set of gold bells on it. It feels like walking right into Hogwarts, minus the whole being in school part.” 

“I haven’t been there in years,” Loki said, brushing his finger across his chin. “We should go back together, just to look around.” 

Tony took his hands back out of his hoodie pocket. “Yeah, you know, they had this sign up about some Halloween thing. You want to try it?” 

“Some Halloween thing,” Loki repeated with a quirk in his lips. He reached for his phone. 

The table squeaked as Tony changed how he was sitting. “I think it was every weekend in October.” He grabbed his mug. “If you want, you know.” Tony glanced down at the bottom of his mug.

“Are you sure you don’t want another cup?” Loki asked. Tony shook his head. “They have it on their website. It looks like all of the shops on the street are participating, but the Knowhere will have card readers and psychics.” 

He briefly considered letting someone else read their cards, but he didn’t really like the idea. There was too much room for error. 

“What’re the other shops doing?” 

“It looks like Randy’s is giving out free jack o’lantern donuts, and another place has half off any purchase…” There were dozens of shops listed. 

“You wanna go?” Tony asked. 

Loki nodded. “I think it’d be fun.” 

“Cool.” 

Tony was getting antsy, and Loki felt like nothing had gone right during his visit. He turned around to look at the clock. “I need to get to Shady Acres before visiting hours end.”

“Oh. Yeah,” Tony said, standing up a bit too quickly for Loki’s peace of mind. “I’ll call you and figure out a time for the Halloween thing, okay?” 

“Alright,” Loki said, disheartened by something he couldn’t place. Tony gripped the back of his chair, staring. He stopped after a moment and turned around, leaving his cards on the table as he started for the door. “Wait.” Loki put the cards back in the box with their booklet. “Don’t forget these.” 

Tony turned the box over, studying it. As he turned his back to Loki, Loki couldn’t restrain himself from taking a peek at his ass. It wouldn’t help to think of those cheeks grasped in his hands, or imagine the way that Tony would kiss him with all the passion that Loki’d had the misfortune of seeing Tony express with someone else at a Christmas party one year. 

The memory soured Loki’s mood even more. He barely held the displeasure from his face as they reached the door and Loki grasped the handle. Tony took one step into the hallway before turning around. 

“What about what those cards meant?” Tony asked.

Loki stared at him, wondering why he hadn’t just told Tony the answer when they’d been sitting at the table. Now the moment had passed. Loki hovered beside the doorframe. He wanted to grab the front of Tony’s hoodie and haul him back inside. He couldn’t do that, though. 

“That’s your homework,” Loki said, forcing an impish smirk that had Tony’s curiosity sparking before shutting the door. 

Loki flipped the deadbolt. Instantly, he wished that he’d just pushed through and said something. He should’ve done all of it differently. 

One of these days, Loki wouldn’t just be catching a glimpse of one of Tony’s flings like at the Christmas party. He’d be introduced to them as Tony’s partner instead, and Loki’s shot would be gone. 

 

Tony stared at the chipping paint for a moment, wishing it had gone differently, before turning around and starting home with more questions than he came with.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki slid an earring through his piercing, pushing the backing in until it pinched. The clear bead that hung from it swung in the light of his lamp. Loki brushed a finger over the keloid scarring that marked where his helix piercing had been, fretting. 

He hadn’t spoken to Tony since he’d last seen him, other than finalizing the time for the Halloween event. Tony was going to meet him there on his way home from work. Loki wondered if Tony had actually done the homework he’d assigned him and figured out the card meanings. 

He just wanted Tony to see that there was a chance. A possibility. Loki stared at himself in the mirror. Maybe Tony wasn’t interested in him, but maybe that was because Loki had never made it an obvious option for him. Loki combed his fingers through his hair, adjusting his part to be more towards the side and tangling the loose, curly waves considerably. Thor’s words on Tony flickered through his mind. 

Loki adjusted his hoodie, a subconscious attempt to be more like Tony. He couldn’t see what Thor did. He didn’t think that Tony looked at him like that. Thor was probably just being overprotective and a pain in the ass. Loki huffed, irked at the thought of his brother. He turned away from the mirror and then turned back. 

He wished that he could see how Tony saw him. Know his thoughts. That’d be so much easier. 

He’d consulted his cards but only gotten sideways answers about Tony’s attraction to him. It’d felt like the deck was being short with him, almost.

Loki walked to the door, grabbing his combat boots and dragging them up over his jeans as he did the laces. It was torture to obsess day to day over what Tony thought of him. To obsess over the reality that if he didn’t say something, Tony’d get with someone else, and someday it wouldn’t be temporary. 

Not that there was any guarantee that things would work out or even that Tony would say yes, Loki reminded himself as he straightened his hoodie before grabbing his keys and stepping out the door. 

Loki didn’t hear the radio as he drove, lost in thoughts and building himself up to say something. Even if Tony said no, that was better than wondering. At least then Loki could snip out that part of his heart and wait for it to heal over. 

It took a while to find street parking, and even then, Loki had a while to walk to the place. He checked his phone. He was running a bit late, but there was nothing from Tony. He texted that he was walking there, knowing that Tony got anxious when he was late to things, and braced himself against the chill of the night air.

The shops he passed were warmly lit from inside, glowing yellow and orange with jack o’lanterns and string lights. The cobblestone sweet was wet from the day’s rain and littered with clusters of decaying fall leaves. Loki had no trouble finding his way to the Knowhere, but he wasn’t prepared for the heavy pang of nostalgia that hit him when he saw it. 

The wooden signpost was hung from a curly iron post. Lights had been strung around it for the celebration. He could see nothing of the shop but the stone stairwell leading down to it, the wet stone shining with yellow light from inside. The memory of discovering a sense of magic, of the way it called him home as if he’d always been meant to be there, struck him with longing and nostalgia. 

He recalled when his mother first showed him her tarot cards, and her quiet amusement and pride at the way he’d been mesmerized. He remembered finding the shop when he was older, how he’d poured over the locked glass case of tarot cards with such a sense of purpose. 

Loki took a steadying breath. Only then did he notice the tables set up outside, draped in embroidered cloths with people sitting around them. With embarrassing delay, he recognized a familiar brunette sitting at one of the tables and was struck by a sense of panic. 

Loki gracefully wove through the small crowd of people, Tony’s back to him. Loki had no idea what he expected the card reader to say to Tony, just that it made him lose a sense of control. As Loki arrived at the table, Tony was already standing up. 

He jumped slightly when he saw Loki. “Sorry, Lo. I didn’t expect to see you there.” 

“I was running late. I couldn’t find parking,” Loki said, glancing at the table. The cards were already neatly stacked away, someone new sitting down where Tony had been.

Tony started walking away from the table, Loki casting one backwards glance before picking up his step to stay alongside Tony. “Yeah. I saw your text.” 

Tony’s gaze lingered a moment too long on Loki to be comfortable, considering something. Before Loki could ask, Tony spoke. “So let’s go see the shop. You know, there’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask you. You know how all your family is named after the Norse pantheon?” 

“Yes,” Loki said, biting down on a _how could I not_ and simultaneously noting that it sounded like Tony had been reading.

Tony shoved his hands in his pockets, leveling Loki with a curious stare as they stood just outside the shop door. 

“You’re not _actually_ Loki, are you? Or like his kid—” Loki was so surprised for a moment that he lost what Tony was saying for a moment. “—because if this is like some Percy Jackson thing, then, you’ve got to tell me, alright—”

Loki blinked, incredulous. It was just amazing to hear Tony thinking of that scenario. Wonderfully logical, brilliantly thoughtful Tony proposing that. Loki licked his lips. “Tony,” he said. If he were a god, wouldn’t he just know whether or not Tony liked him? On that note, shouldn’t life be a hell of a lot easier? Then again, maybe not. He pulled himself away from weighing his experiences against his namesake’s to address Tony. “I think my parents just happened to have similar names and then kept up the tradition when they had kids.” 

Tony reached for the door handle. “You think? You didn’t ask?” Tony didn’t move, waiting for a reply.

Loki pursed his lips. Maybe he’d had the fantasy that it’d meant something more when he was a kid and that’s why he hadn’t asked more often. His mother had given him books on myths, but they’d never spoken that much about his name directly. “I—”

The door started to push outward and someone came past, Loki and Tony having to step out of the way. They went inside where it was instantly too warm in comparison. Loki quickly dropped their previous conversation to address the question that’d been hammering away in his mind like a woodpecker. “What’d you hear in your reading?” 

“Stuff,” Tony shrugged. 

“Stuff.” 

“Mhmm,” Tony said, reaching for a candle and sniffing it. “Wow. This smells just like apple pie. Here. You smell it.” 

Loki’s features subtly shifted to determined. He would get Tony to spill. He would.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony unscrewed the lid on another candle, taking a whiff and pushing it in Loki’s general direction as Loki set the first one back on the shelf. “It says it’s leather,” Tony said. “I don’t know. It’s close, but it kinda smells like cooking too. Is that weird?” 

The rich aroma made Loki swoon for a moment. He hurried to take it from Tony’s hand, setting it back on the shelf as Tony picked up yet another. “It’s close,” Loki said. “Why don’t we—”

“—Pumpkin spice,” Tony said, handing it off. Loki sighed as the sweet scent of a pumpkin spice latte wafted up towards him. “I cannot believe how many different candles they have.” The glass jar clinked as Loki set it down. “It’s a magic shop. What did you expect?” He quirked his lips into a smile, but Tony just stared back at him, nose buried in a marshmallow scented one. “They have lots of uses.” Loki took a step away from the display, looking for the tarot card case. He started walking for it the moment he spotted it.

Golden edges lined the glass case. There was a simple, somewhat frail lock in the middle. Loki set his hand on the glass as he stared down at the decks. 

Tony crinkled his nose at a pine scented candle, watching as Loki gave something in the glass case a longing glance. He reached into his pocket for his phone. 

_You’re not nursing a crush on me, are you?_

Rhodey answered his text faster than Tony could even put the phone back in his pocket. 

_No._

Tony nodded his head slightly. He knew that was the case, but he’d wanted to rule it out anyway. He reached for a lemon scented candle, ignoring the weird look he was getting from the lady near the counter. 

_And I wouldn’t waltz around it like you and Loki do if I did_ Rhodey texted, followed by a winking emoji with its tongue out. Tony huffed, rolling his eyes. 

_Did you tell Loki what those three cards meant yet?_

Tony glanced up. Loki was talking to someone from the shop now, who was opening the case for him and smiling about something that Loki had said. _No_ Tony texted back. 

_Why are you asking me if I have a crush on you?_

_I had someone else here read my cards._

_And that’s what they said?_

_Yeah. They said somebody I know has a crush on me._

_You’re killing me, Tones._

Tony took in a deep breath. He grabbed a cherry scented candle off the shelf, frowning at the too sweet scent. Before, he’d asked Rhodey for help with the homework that Loki had given him. Rhodey had given him the most put upon look Tony had ever seen on his face. “Friends, relationship, lovers. What else could it mean?” Rhodey had asked him, daring Tony to correct him. 

“Well,” Tony had said. He had looked it up and tried to guess at meanings, but he didn’t have the knack that Rhodey and Loki did. Probably because he felt like it was all just a game, but whatever. “It could mean a friendship where two people have the same vision is coming to an important choice. But you’re assuming that Loki meant it about us. It could mean anything. He didn’t say what it related to.” 

“You’re thinking too hard,” Rhodey had scolded him. “He didn’t give you a logic puzzle. You should just tell Loki, Tones. I don’t think you’ll lose him as a friend. And I don’t think the answer is no, but even if it was, I think that Loki would still be your friend.” 

Tony hadn’t said anything. Instead he’d picked at his sneakers as they sat at the table, nervous. With the way he felt about Loki, the thought of potentially losing him was a million times harder to stomach. 

“And that’s the only pep talk you’re getting today, so finish eating already so that we can get back to playing video games. I’m going to start without you if you keep nursing that garlic bread.” 

Tony had smiled then, grateful to Rhodey as ever. He set down the cherry scented candle. 

The reading had sort of felt like being caught naked when he’d been told that one of his friends felt strongly for him. It also seemed so much like wishful thinking that Tony had pushed the thought away. He didn’t know why he’d paid for a reading. He’d gotten to the shop fifteen minutes too early, and it’d seemed like a good idea.

Tony didn’t know whether to scold himself for believing it, or let it give him the hope that he desperately wanted.

Loki was sorting through cards that were laid out on the glass case now, chatting with the shop clerk. Tony decided to make his way over. 

“Please tell me you’re going to get the one that’s all cats,” Tony said, nodding towards the one in the middle of the case as Loki and the shop clerk turned to look at him. 

Loki sort of smiled as the clerk was quick to say, “It’s actually one of our more popular ones. Would you like to look at it?” 

“I got a deck the other day,” Tony politely told her. “Are you getting that one?” He asked Loki, gesturing towards the one that was spread out in the center. 

“I’m not sure.” 

Of the three decks he’d sorted through so far, none of them had felt right. But there was something in the case calling out to him. He knew it. “I’ll look at the cat one, actually.” 

It wasn’t right either. 

Loki sighed, frowning at the case. “I’m not sure.” 

“What about that one?” Tony asked, pointing towards a deck at the bottom of a stack. The shop clerk removed the deck, handing it to Loki. 

It was decorated with intricate patterns and minimalist renderings of the pictures with blue foil that caught the light in lines. “That’s the Jarvis deck,” the shop clerk said. “We’ve had it for a while. I think it might be on sale, actually. Let me go double check.” 

The cards had an almost a scientific air to them, though Loki had no idea why. They just screamed Tony, and for that reason, Loki coveted them. He wanted to hold on to them, even as he felt that they were probably meant for Tony. The needy feeling in his head was gone too. 

Tony glanced at the cards. He liked the unusual patterns on them, but more than anything, he liked the way that Loki stared at them. “I think that’s a yes,” Tony said. Loki’s lips curled up into a smile. “I’m thinking about getting a candle,” Tony said, just to have something to say. The shop was getting more crowded, and it took the shop clerk a couple tries to maneuver around the product displays to reach them again. 

“It’s sixty percent off and comes down to ten dollars.” 

“It’s perfect,” Loki said. “Do you have bags?” 

“Those are up front,” the clerk said, leading them around a display of crystals and a group of teenagers in butterfly costumes to a display rack of different cloth drawstring bags. “These are fifteen percent off,” she said, nodding towards someone behind them. “Please let me know if there’s anything else you need,” she excused herself, going to help a man with a display of statues. 

Tony watched Loki pick through the bags, thinking. “Did you learn anything interesting in your reading?” 

“I guess,” Tony said indifferently. 

Loki pushed aside an embroidered black bag to look at a teal one. “What did you ask about?” 

“What about this one?” Tony asked, pointing to one covered in stars. Loki’s eyes met his. Loki knew exactly what Tony was doing with his distraction, and Tony knew it too. He smiled and Loki turned back to the bags, smirking slightly. 

Loki sorted through the bags a while longer before turning away with two in his hand. “Was there anything that you wanted to look at?” 

Tony looked across the store. There were wind chimes and a jewelry case and tons of books. “I kinda looked around the last time that I was here. I don’t know what half of it is for.” 

“I always liked to pick up a new incense when I was here,” Loki said, going back in the direction of the candles. He picked out a box of incense from the display and added it to his stack of purchases. 

Tony glanced back at the candle display stand. Loki had looked…appreciative of the leather candle. Tony grabbed that along with the apple pie scented one that had made his mouth water. “I guess I could’ve gone to a bath store,” Tony joked. 

“People use them in spells,” Loki said, starting towards the register. 

“Wait. Really?” Loki nodded. “So can I just light this and something will happen?” 

With amusement Loki answered, “No. That’s just an apple pie scented candle until you decide otherwise.” 

“Okay. Well the important thing is, will it let me win the lottery if that’s what I want it to do?” 

“Probably not.” 

“Bummer.” 

“Mhmm.” 

As they stood in line at the register, more people filtered in and out of the shop. It was noisy with excited voices. A good number of people were wearing costumes. After Loki paid for his purchases, he waited beside the counter for Tony. 

“Here,” Loki said when Tony was finished, extending out his hand. He was holding one of the bags he’d bought. “You should keep your cards in this.” 

“Oh,” Tony said, surprised. For a split second he was going to tell Loki he didn’t need one, but it was a gift from Loki. Hell yes he was going to keep it. “Thanks. That’s really nice.” 

“You’re welcome.” Loki started guiding them towards the door. “Where should we go next?” 

“There’s a gift shop across the street. That might be interesting,” Tony suggested.

“Gift shop it is.” 

 

At the gift shop Loki pointed out a notebook to Tony. “It’s good to keep a record of your readings. You could add yours from tonight into it.” He acted sly, but Tony put a hand on his hip, raising one eyebrow. Surely Loki knew how heavy handed he was being. 

“Why do you want to know what it was?” Tony asked. 

“Why don’t you want to tell me?” Loki countered. 

Tony grinned, looking away from Loki, a bit abashed. “Maybe you need this to keep all your secrets,” Loki teased, tapping the cover of the notebook. 

“They wouldn’t all fit in there,” Tony answered, weaving back into the crowd of people in the small shop.

 

At the candy shop Tony tried samples of oddly flavored candy corn. They all looked like regular candy corn, but the layers had different flavors. Tony handed Loki a chocolate mousse one. 

He didn’t have high expectations as he popped it in his mouth. “It’s surprising,” Loki decided. 

“I think it’s just chocolatey,” Tony said. He was going to buy a bag of the caramel ones. 

“I guess it’s a night for surprises,” Loki said. 

Tony stopped assessing the sample tray to look to Loki for elaboration. “Well,” Loki said, twining his hands together behind his back. “You had a surprise too.” 

Tony couldn’t tell if Loki was messing with him or being entirely sincere. “The bag you gave me?” Tony guessed. 

“No,” Loki said. “What surprised you in your reading.” 

Tony opened his mouth and then quickly shut it. “Nice try.” Loki really had him going for a moment. “You don’t know if I was surprised.” 

“Then you weren’t?” Loki cocked his head to the side slightly, playing dumb. 

“Who knows what I was,” Tony said, grabbing a bag of caramel flavored ones and a bag of s’more flavored ones. He started towards the cash register, leaving Loki pressing his lips together with a huff behind him. 

 

Loki immediately took off on his own when they reached the used book store, climbing up the spiral staircase and vanishing into the stacks on the second floor. It wasn’t hard for either of them to get lost in the books and go off into their own little worlds. 

Still, after a moment Tony decided to follow after him. The metal staircase groaned as Tony climbed. He passed a stack of books with a flickering led candle set inside a lantern.

Tony avoided stepping on the dragon tail of a small child’s costume as he wandered down an aisle. Two stacks later he spotted Loki’s tall figure leaning forward towards the shelf, his pointer finger guiding along the edge. 

“What’re you looking for?” 

To Loki’s credit, he didn’t jump in surprise at Tony’s sudden appearance. He answered Tony as he scanned the last few books. “I was hoping they’d have one of the mythology books that I like in stock to show you, but they don’t.” 

“It’s okay,” Tony reassured him. “You know all that’s online for free, right?” 

Loki straightened his back as he stood up tall again. “Some are better researched than others.” He leaned back against the bookshelf as he stared at Tony. 

Tony squirmed a little, trying desperately not to think about how attractive it was to see Loki casually lean against the bookshelf with that beguiling look in his eyes. 

Loki wanted to ask Tony right now, but as the thought crossed his mind, the child in the dragon costume began shrieking. His grandfather was quick to placate him. “Let’s go get apple cider,” Loki suggested. Tony turned away from looking for the kid and nodded. 

“That sounds great.” 

 

They stood at the opening of an alleyway, cups of hot apple cider in their hands. Tony’s were clenched around his paper cup, his back facing the wall as he enjoyed the warm steam billowing up from his drink. Loki stood in the middle of the alley, waiting for his to cool down enough to drink. 

They were only a few steps away from the main street where everyone was walking in groups, their chatter carrying through the air as jack o’lanterns flickered lights against the brick walls. 

“You know I’m curious,” Loki said after a moment. 

“About the reading? Yeah, I know.” Tony blew a little waft of air towards his drink. The steam wobbled, darting away from Tony’s breath. He watched it, rather than Loki, because he was afraid that if he did, Loki would get him to spill. 

Loki smiled softly at Tony to encourage him, but it went unnoticed. “Was it embarrassing?” Loki tried. 

“No.” Tony wasn’t sure whether to feel annoyed with Loki for continually asking or not. He did feel slightly annoyed, but he also wanted to say something, just to see how Loki would react. 

“And it wasn’t surprising,” Loki thought aloud, holding his drink beside his lips without taking a sip. 

“I didn’t say that it wasn’t,” Tony said. “And I didn’t say that it was.” 

The second Tony made eye contact with him, Loki decided to go for a more direct approach. “Will you please tell me?” He asked, careful to be charming without pushing Tony too much. 

Tony looked away, taking a sip of his cider. Fine. If Loki wasn’t going to drop it, Tony was going to see how he reacted. The hell with it. Why not? 

Tony held his drink in front of his stomach, staring at Loki. It hurt how good Loki looked. The steam from his drink danced around him in the faint breeze, the soft lighting catching his features just right and making him almost appear magical. 

But it was Tony’s friend in those eyes, and a person that he cared deeply for. Tony tried to speak as neutrally as possible. 

“They said a good friend of mine has a crush on me.” 

Loki’s heart skipped a beat. 

Tony didn’t notice any change in Loki, except that he was listening intently. Loki had been dying to know, after all. “And I know it’s not Rhodey,” Tony said. “I checked.” Still impossible to read Loki. “It could’ve been wrong,” Tony said with a shrug. 

“What if I told you it’s right?” 

Tony stared at Loki, his mind veering off in too many directions to follow at once. Did Loki know who it was? Was it Strange? Because that would explain a few things. 

Loki gripped his cup tighter, green eyes set adamantly on Tony as he drew on the courage he’d been building all night. 

“I’m that friend.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Wait. What?” 

Loki was not going to back down now, not when he had momentum. Loki clenched the paper cup harder, reminding himself somewhere in the back of his mind not to squeeze too hard or it’d spill everywhere. “I’m that friend.” The night air was cold on Loki’s lips, his heart pounding frantically in his chest. 

“Really?” 

Loki nodded his head slightly, and before the doubts could even begin to creep in, Tony’s face lit up, as bright as the full moon above them. 

“Ha, wait, really? Really?” Tony asked, spilling his apple cider over his hands as he stepped towards Loki, basking in the slow answering smile that pulled across Loki’s lips and morphed into outright joy. “I—Rhodey’s always been saying, he’s said—wow, wow I—”

Loki was lightheaded as he watched Tony stumble over his words with bright brown eyes. “I wanted to tell you,” Loki said. “With the cards—”

“—Oh man, Rhodey told me they meant a relationship and I—” Tony glanced back at Loki, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment. “You meant that with the lovers, right?” 

Loki’s voice was a mixture of embarrassment, mumbling, and prideful amusement. “I meant lovers.” 

“Then why’d you say that thing about the choice—” 

“—I didn’t want to be outright obvious about it! It was a pretty blatant spread as it was—”

“—I didn’t know that—”

“—which is why I made it easy to read—”

Loki and Tony both stopped at the same time, staring at each other for a moment. Tony wasn’t sure who laughed first, but then they both were. It took them a moment to calm down, their nerves making their laughter almost hysterical until it calmed down with relief. 

Loki reached out to Tony, brushing the string of his hoodie away from the cider it was about to spill into. “I’ve wanted to do things like that for ages,” Loki muttered, his hand lingering on the string for a moment before letting go. 

Tony blinked, stunned with longing for a second at Loki’s touch before he realized he still had dripping wet hands. He hurried to dry them off on his hoodie. Loki watched him, eyes alight with thought, before he crouched down to the ground and set his hot cider down. When he stood again, he reached for Tony’s cup. 

“What’re you doing?” 

“I don’t want you to spill it all over yourself again,” Loki said. Tony’s fingers were pliant as Loki drew the cup out of them and set them on the ground. 

“Yeah,” Tony said, desperately trying not to think anything lewd at having Loki crouch down on the ground in front of him for a moment. “But why—?” Loki was taller than him again, smiling at him with a look that was daring enough to cover the nervousness under it.

“Because I’ve been dying to kiss you the last five months,” Loki said. 

“Oh.” Tony’s face turned several shades redder than he’d ever admit. “Our first kiss now?” 

Loki licked his lips, acting a hell of a lot less jittery and unsure than he felt. “Unless you have any objections?” 

“No, no—”

“—Good.” Loki closed the distance between them then, catching Tony’s lips before he could ramble his way out of the moment. Loki’s hand fisted the warm fabric of Tony’s hoodie right beside his collar bone, his lips cool and sticky with the sweetness of the apple cider. He moaned as Tony came to life and deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing the seam of Loki’s lips in such a way that Loki was grateful he was holding on to Tony for balance. 

When Loki pulled back, he kept his grip on Tony’s hoodie, an involuntary smile lighting up his face. Tony stared at him with soft, love sick eyes. 

“We can’t make out in this alleyway,” Tony said. “Somebody’s going to bitch and we’re gonna get brought up on indecency charges or something.” He sounded too much like someone who’d had that happen before. 

“Sorry,” Loki said, letting go of his hoodie. 

He was apologizing for the way he’d gripped Tony’s hoodie for dear life, but Tony took it as him apologizing for the kiss. 

“No, not sorry,” Tony said. “Don’t be sorry.” Loki smiled at him, feeling drunkenly giddy. Unsure of what to do, he bent down and retrieved their cups, returning Tony’s to him. 

Tony downed a huge gulp. “That’s not how I imagined that going.” 

Loki quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? And how did you imagine it going?” 

“I don’t know,” Tony said, walking out of the alleyway, Loki and him standing a lot closer together as they walked now. “To be honest, I always sort of thought that if I told you, I’d be wasted off my ass.” 

Loki was quiet for a moment. He was sure what Tony meant by that. “How long have you—felt that way?” He’d had no idea how Tony felt about him, and he suddenly realized what Tony had said. What if Tony wasn’t—what if he didn’t feel about this on the level that Loki did? 

“I don’t remember when it started. Ages ago,” Tony said. “But uh, you said five months ago?” Tony didn’t know how not to make it sound insecure and maybe a little judgmental, but Loki didn’t take it the wrong way. 

“That’s when I started going crazy about it,” Loki clarified. “I don’t remember how long it’s been. That’s how long it’s been. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Tony tossed his empty paper cup away in a bin. He stuck his hands down inside his hoodie. “I didn’t—” He was sort of mumbling. “—I didn’t want you to not be into me and then for that to make things weird. I didn’t want you to feel bad because I’d fallen in love with you and for that to ruin things.” With that said, Loki’s giddy mood returned in an instant. 

Tony looked up at Loki, unsure of just how much of a crush Loki had. “I mean,” Tony said. “Like I’m in love with you, but it’s okay if you’re not there yet—”

“I am very much in love with you,” Loki said, grabbing his hand. It gave him a sense of being settled, like everything was right in the world for once. 

Tony beamed, turning away so that Loki couldn’t see just how ridiculously over the moon he was as they walked until he could tamper it down a little. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Tony asked. 

Loki sipped his cider, trying to finish it as the drink went luke warm. He needed a moment to answer. “Thor—always said you looked at me, but I didn’t believe him.” He felt Tony tense as he mentioned Thor. “I didn’t think you were into me like that.” It felt stupid, in hindsight. “But I got fed up and I wanted to ask you, even if the answer was no.” Loki tossed away his cup in a bin.

They navigated around a large group of people that were standing outside of a shop and taking pictures. It was still just as busy as it’d been minutes ago, but it felt like hours had passed. 

“So, uh, why the tarot cards?” Tony asked. “Why not just ask me without all the build up?” 

“I did ask you.” 

“You did?” 

Loki smiled, almost in disbelief. “And you weren’t listening.” 

“When was that?” 

“The day we went to the street fair.” Loki wanted to leave it at that, but he knew that if he didn’t elaborate, Tony would ask. “So when I saw the cards being sold, I thought of a different way to ask you. It was just that I could read them, and I—they didn’t match what I wanted to say.” 

They’d been more about their friendship falling apart in order to become something new and meaningful, instead of Tony keeping a secret lover with disaster about to strike, now that Loki thought about it. 

Tony couldn’t believe how fucking close he’d been to Loki just asking him out, and he’d missed it. 

At least it made sense why Loki had been irked that day. 

“The cards you bought tonight, could you still read them for me?” Tony asked. “Or is that not a thing anymore?” He was trying to let Loki off the hook if it wasn’t, but he was hopeful. He didn’t even know why. He was just curious. 

Loki felt for the new deck in his pocket. “It would be nice to try these cards.” He felt his hand tug for a moment as Tony stopped walking. 

“There’s an open bench,” Tony suggested. 

Loki smiled at him, sitting down. Tony only gave him enough room between them to set the cards down, leaving the whole other end of the bench open. The light from a jack o’lantern flickered against the bench and another crowd of trick or treaters passed. 

Loki began shuffling the cards.

Tony knew that it didn’t really matter what they said because now he knew the thing he’d wanted to know the most. He just wanted to enjoy that closeness of reading with Loki. 

Loki sorted the cards, knowing that whatever they said, he wouldn’t need advice on him and Tony. They were going to be just as wonderful as a couple as they had been as just friends, maybe even better.

He didn’t need the cards to tell him that.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!!!! 
> 
> There will be an epilogue chapter in which Rhodey can rejoice in not having to listen to Tony pining over Loki anymore and maybe Tony and Loki will get a little bit more than a kiss. XD Please let me know your thoughts and what you enjoyed to help me in writing future fics! :)


	11. Chapter 11

As it turned out, Tony had been a natural with the Jarvis deck. Loki hadn’t realized that it was more of an oracle deck, with the names of tarot cards on them but new, unique meanings as well for the cards. Tony wasn’t so much reading them as making great, mostly funny stories with them, but Loki laughed along and enjoyed it none the less as Tony told him how it said that he was great in bed and would someday own fifty cats. 

Loki did one spread with it, and it confirmed Tony’s first prediction along with showering their being a couple with praise, so Loki instantly became fond of the deck. Even if it was sort of a smart ass and a flatterer at the same time. 

When they got back to his place, Loki gently set the Jarvis deck on his bookshelf beside an empty coffee mug and a jar candle where the wick had nearly burnt out to the bottom already. 

Now that they were in his apartment, tension settled where teasing and flirting had been the rest of the night. 

It was strange, to stand beside his best friend and feel like he was on an awkward first date. Tony was utterly familiar to him and at the same time…

Tony tried to flash a smile the way he always did, but it felt fake simply because it was Loki he was trying to impress with it. “So, about that kiss—”

“I thought you’d never ask.” 

Loki held Tony’s warm gaze, cocky and yet uncertain at the same time, as if he was waiting on Loki’s cue. Loki grasped Tony’s sweatshirt, bolder this time. He leaned in to catch Tony’s lips and found Tony already moving to meet him, angling himself to allow Loki in. Tony set a tentative hand on Loki’s hip that became firmer, grasping Loki’s hip as their tongues met. 

Loki’s heart pounded in his chest as his head spun. He felt hyperaware of everything. The pressure of Tony’s hand on his hip, the strain of his hoodie’s fabric in Loki’s hand, his teeth over Loki’s bottom lip as Tony let out a soft, obscene sound that made Loki giddy with how intimate it was.

It was different than how Tony imagined, but better. He liked the domineering edge in the way that Loki clutched his sweatshirt, but the way that it was needy too, making him feel wanted. Tony was dying to run his hands through Loki’s hair. He reached forward, drawing Loki down towards him while rising on his toes to meet him. 

Tony’s thumbs circled behind Loki’s ears, sending shivers of anticipation down his spine. Loki went still and pliant, waiting. Holding his breath. Tony had utterly ravished the person Loki’d had the misfortune of seeing at that Christmas party, but now it was going to be happening to him and he clasped Tony’s sweatshirt with both hands expectantly as Tony’s tongue traced his chapped lips. 

Tony pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Loki’s mouth. He hummed, almost as if he was going to say something before his thumbs massaged the soft skin behind Loki’s ears and Loki felt himself melting into the touch, Tony’s lips tender on his. 

When those lips vanished, Tony’s breath drifting again his cheek, Loki blinked his eyes open to find Tony staring at him with the most besotted look that Loki had ever seen. 

Tony grinned, getting a rush of confidence from how flustered Loki looked with flushed cheeks and unguarded eyes. 

Tony took one step backwards, Loki unthinkingly stepping with him, unable to let go of his hoodie. Tony grabbed Loki’s hips and walked backwards until he felt the back of his knees hit the couch. 

He wasn’t sure if he laid down first or Loki crawled over him first, just that they were suddenly falling onto the couch together, limbs tangling as their kisses became more needy and less careful. They could both feel how effected the other was from the moment they collapsed on the couch, their arousal obvious. 

It felt like ages before they were awkwardly fumbling to open jean zippers, hands exploring and both too desperate and impatient for anything else. Loki felt like he came the moment Tony’s hand wrapped around him. His vision vanished and he heard Tony’s moan distantly before it returned and Loki realized that he’d missed seeing Tony’s face as he climaxed the way that Loki had daydreamed about so many times before. 

“Sheesh,” Tony breathed out, trying to catch his breath. “We didn’t even get undressed.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” Loki assured him, letting all of his weight collapse into Tony. He was beyond exhausted. Warm arms wrapped around his back. 

“Good,” Tony answered, pressing a kiss to his cheek. They were quiet for a moment, hearts both pounding. “Thank you.” 

Loki raised an eyebrow, pushing himself up just enough so that Tony could get the full effect of his look, but Tony just stared back at him with the same soft brown eyes that Loki had fallen in love with so long ago. “For what?” 

“Saying something,” Tony said. “I never would have.” 

Loki slowly smiled to one side then with unexpected sympathy. He wished that he’d known how Tony had really felt about him so much sooner. 

Tony broke into a smile. “Just wait until Rhodey hears about this.” 

 

Tony avoided seeing Rhodey and saying anything about his and Loki’s date for the next two days, even though it was killing him. Unfortunately, that was just how long shipping took, and Tony knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it secret from Rhodey if he saw him before that. 

Tony let himself into Rhodey’s house, the gift bag crinkling as it brushed against his side. “Tones?” Rhodey called from the living room. 

“Yeah!” Tony was practically running towards his voice. 

Rhodey looked up from the game counsel and stared at Tony for a moment before his mouth dropped open. “No,” he said. “You—seriously?!” Rhodey exclaimed, dropping his controller and standing up. 

“Yes,” Tony said, beaming. “I was going to tell you, but I wanted to get you this—”

Rhodey sighed as Tony extended the bag out towards him. “I’m always telling you not to give me all this stuff all the time—”

“—Open it,” Tony demanded. 

Rhodey reached into the confetti filled bag and pulled out a desk plaque that had _I told you so_ engraved on the front. 

Rhodey laughed and then grasped Tony in a hug. “I’m happy for you, man.” 

“Thanks, sour patch.” 

Tony smiled. “And now you have your plaque so you don’t have to say you told me so—”

“—This is not going to stop me from saying it,” Rhodey told him, grinning. He turned the plaque over in his hands, admiring it. 

“So uh, Loki’s going to make dinner at his place tonight and I wanted to invite you to come. Thor’s going to go too, maybe. Loki’s making chicken parmesan. He said he’d read your cards too if you want.” 

Rhodey nodded. “That sounds good.” He looked towards the kitchen. “But I think we need a beer or two first to celebrate. You for finally making Loki your official boyfriend, and me for not having to watch you pine over him anymore,” Rhodey teased. 

“That’s fair,” Tony said, rolling his eyes and following after his best friend. 

Tony looked down at his hand, to the ring on his pointer finger. Loki had plucked one from his own long, thin fingers and slid it onto Tony’s as they laid in bed together. “Mine,” he had said teasingly, sliding the ring on and massaging Tony’s hand with both of his, smiling with more carefree lightheartedness than Tony’d ever seen with him. 

“Did you just propose to me?” Tony had teased back, already coveting the ring. If Loki wanted it back he was in for a fight. 

“No,” Loki had said coyly. “I just put dibs on you.” 

Tony had laughed then. “And how am I going to put dibs on you then, huh?” 

Loki had thought about it for a moment. “Make me an earring,” he said. Tony’s eyes darted to the one that was swinging from Loki’s ear. “You’ve been staring at that one all night. I had no idea you liked it so much.” 

“I do, it’s just now I don’t have to hide checking you out all the time.” 

Loki hummed, squeezing Tony’s hand. He was absolutely stunning, lounging naked on the bed with nothing but his jewelry on. Did he have any idea how much will power it would take not to stare at him? Tony didn’t have that much will power. He doubted that anyone on Earth did.

“Make?” Tony said, processing that a moment later. 

“You know how to make things with metal, right?” 

Instantly, Tony’s brain went in a thousand directions with possible plans for it. “You have no idea.” 

Loki drew in closer to him, and as their lips meet for the millionth time that morning Tony found that he couldn’t have been happier. 

The same thought ran through Loki’s mind, along with a gleeful note of pride for having the courage to ask Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤


End file.
